don't be alarmed if i fall head over feet
by garyprestons
Summary: Back in uni, Miranda and Gary have to pretend to be dating to appease his mum. Maybe it's not all just for show, though...
1. Chapter 1

"I need a favour."

Miranda looked up from her plate of biscuits when Gary dropped down onto the sofa next to her. He reached for a biscuit but she held the plate away.

"Unless said favour is having a biscuit, you can keep your hands to yourself," she teased him, setting the plate aside before turning towards him. "What's on your mind?"

Gary looked away from her nervously, scratching his cheek like he did when he was uncomfortable. She waited for him to answer, trying not to eye the biscuits longingly.

"So, christmas break is coming up, and I was planning on going home for it. Except mum's still pretty down ever since she and dad split, and when I spoke to her this morning she asked if I might… bring you along."

Miranda's eyes widened in surprise and confusion. "Me? Why?"

Gary shrugged. "Guess she's just worried the house will be a bit empty for the holidays this year."

"But your sisters are coming too, right?"

"Well, yeah, but I guess… the more, the merrier?"

Miranda nibbled on her bottom lip as she considered it. There was one reason why she was reluctant to agree, and obviously Gary felt it too, hence his hesitation in asking.

"It's just, well, every time you talk to her mum, she asks if we're dating…" she began, and Gary nodded quickly.

"Right. She did it this morning, too. Anyway, I had a theory."

She reached for a biscuit and nibbled absently at it as he spoke.

"What if I just tell her that we are?"

Miranda started to choke, and Gary smacked her on the back a few times until she stopped coughing.

"Wow, I didn't realise my idea was that terrible," he joked lightly, his hand still on her upper back, slowly rubbing it to comfort her. After she had caught her breath, she looked down at her hands, feeling her cheeks warm at his suggestion. It wasn't that his idea was terrible, it was just that… well, she'd wondered what it would be like to date him before. Quite often. But they were just friends, and so all she had were her daydreams.

"You're not suggesting that we actually—"

"No, no, we just tell her we are," Gary reassured her. "I dunno, make up some story about how it all started, act cute when she's in the room, and she'll be thrilled."

"Right until she starts bugging you about when you're going to propose," Miranda said with a quiet snort, and Gary looked alarmed.

"What? No, no, I don't think she's thinking that far into the future. I think she's just always kind of… hoped that we'd give it a go."

For years she'd wondered that as well; why hadn't they ever tried dating or even discussed it? She was certainly attracted to him, and from the way she often caught him looking at her, she suspected he felt something similar. If anything, maybe it was simply mere curiousity.

"I can't believe I'm agreeing to this," Miranda said with a sigh, and dropped her shoulders in defeat. "Okay, I'll do it. It's only for a weekend, right? How hard could it be?"

Gary grinned and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, hugging her to him. She slid her arms around his waist and gave him a quick squeeze in response, but he didn't immediately let go of her.

"What are you doing?" she asked, brow furrowed in puzzlement.

"Practicing," Gary replied with a cheeky grin, and she grabbed a cushion off of the sofa and shoved it in his face.

"Just don't get any other ideas," Miranda laughed, still blushing faintly.


	2. Chapter 2

"Right, well, all in all I suppose things could have gone worse." It was the weekend following their conversation, and Miranda had successfully assimilated into the role of The Girlfriend. Well, it hadn't gone as smoothly as she would have liked; she still couldn't tell Gary's twin sisters apart from one another, much to their annoyance. But Gary's mum had loved her.

"Gary's told me so much about you – he just goes on and on…"

"Oh, um, really," Miranda had replied, noticing Gary looked rather panicked at the time. He had later explained he'd talked her up a bit to his mum to sell the whole 'long-term relationship we've been keeping a secret from you' angle.

There was, however, one kink in their plan that they hadn't anticipated—the sleeping arrangements. Gary's mum had shooed them upstairs to bed and both of them had assumed Miranda would be bunking with Gary's sisters. This turned out to not be the case at all, no pun intended, as Miranda's case was sitting outside a closed door that was clearly Gary's bedroom.

"Right, well, you know my sisters' bedroom is next to mine. They're probably listening in," Gary was saying, and Miranda snapped her attention back to the present.

"Hm? Oh, right. Well, if we're quiet they can just think we're snogging or something." She laughed a little at the ridiculous idea, perhaps a bit too loudly, because Gary frowned slightly and then got off the bed and went to his closet.

"Well, you can have the bed, and I've got a sleeping bag. So long as it's packed away by morning, they'll never figure it out." Miranda nodded and hurriedly grabbed her pyjamas and toothbrush from her case before leaving his bedroom and going on a search for the bathroom.

When she came back, Gary was already stretched out on his sleeping bag and Miranda carefully stepped over him before climbing into his bed. It felt a bit weird being in his bedroom, in his bed, especially since he was only a few feet away. She could hear his breathing and after a moment the silence was too uncomfortable to ignore. She rolled over and peered over the side of the bed at him.

"Are you awake?" she asked, and Gary's face broke into a grin and he laughed softly.

"Miranda, it's been like a minute. I'm not that tired, anyway."

She laughed too, because this was silly, wasn't it? They didn't have to keep up the facade in here behind closed doors. There wasn't a need for holding hands or finishing each other's sentences or being all ridiculously cute and coupley.

"So, I've got to be better than some of the girls you've dated, right?" Miranda teased him, and Gary threw his pillow at her.

"You're pretty high up there, yeah," he admitted. "I mean aside from the wind and your inability to carry a tune, you're great."

"Oi!" She hurtled the pillow back at him with such force it made an audible smack as it hit him in the face.

"Ow! Why are you so violent?!" he whined, hugging the pillow to his chest and rubbing his cheek.

Miranda giggled and leaned over to pull his hand away from his face. "Such a drama queen. You're fine."

Her fingertips lingered on his cheek a bit longer than it probably needed to, and she quickly pulled it away and settled back into bed. The lights from the streetlamps outside his bedroom window created shadows on the walls, of his bookshelves and the photos pinned the board above his desk. She'd been surprised to see herself in some of the photos; it was sweet that he wanted to remember their trips and parties during the summer when they were apart.

"Night, Gary," she whispered, unsure of whether he was still awake.

But almost immediately, she heard his reply, and she buried her cheek into his pillow and closed her eyes.


End file.
